When Roses Collide

Chapter Twenty-Five

Travis swung the truck with the flat-bed trailer up along the side of the feed barn, hardly getting it in park before he jumped out of the cab. Now that he had made the decision to pursue the rapturous Miss Harley wholeheartedly, he was in a hurry to get started. Every moment he spent away from her, made him miss her more and he was anxious to rectify that. Immediately.

"Brady, before you unload, I want all of Harley's feed transferred to my personal truck."

"Sure thing, boss," he agreed with a smug little grin as he rounded the trailer and started unstrapping tie downs.

Travis shook his head. He didn't know who was more excited about his newly flourishing love life, him or Brady. Chuckling under his breath, he took off towards the house, but a thought had him screeching to a halt. What if Harley wanted to come out to his truck or worse...go for a drive?

Travis cringed slightly, thinking about the dozen or so fast food bags and other junk gracing the floor of his pickup from his last auction trip. Turning on his heel, he headed back towards Brady who was in the middle of unloading large bags of dogfood. "Before you load up my truck, give it a quick cleaning out and a vacuum."

"Will do," Brady grunted.

Turning back towards the house, Travis walked about a half a dozen steps before turning back. "Oh, and Brady?"

"Yes?"

"Give it a quick wash too."

Brady sighed and rolled his eyes. "Anything else?" he asked, annoyed.

Travis crossed his arms over his chest and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning. "Just one more thing," he said solemnly, "don't squish the geraniums."

Laughing as his new foreman gave his middle finger a workout, he made his way over to the house. His heart beat double time, matching the pace of his boots as he rounded the corner heading for the front porch. He felt light as a feather and as happy as if someone was tickling his ass with one.

A smile broke across his face when he realized he was giddy. Downright dizzy with excitement and happiness. Travis's mind had all kinds of issues to deal with today. Who knew he would ever have to deal with feelings of the actual emotional variety? Him...Mr. Asshole was hopelessly smitten.

He had taken great care at the nursery, selecting just the right shades of flowers and driving the sales attendant to a high level of frustration at his pickiness to choose only the most perfect of specimens. He even subjected himself to non-stop ribbing from Brady in uncharacteristic good humor and his hand had taken full advantage of the situation.

Normally, he wouldn't have been caught dead in a garden center, but...surprisingly enough, he had enjoyed the afternoon of searching for the right plants. The chore of making sure she only received the best the nursery had to offer, filled with a sense of accomplishment and pride. To him, it wasn't just a bunch of stupid plants, it was assuring she received the finest of everything he could give.

For the first time in his life, Travis wasn't concerned about anything other than spending time getting to know someone and seeing to their happiness above his own. This idea had shocked him some and he did a little soul searching to see if any of the old worries would rear their ugly head.

Was she after his money, the ranch, the Montgomery name? He waited for the telltale dread to wash over him, but it never came. Nope. Not one blasted worry erupted in his gut. All he could feel was the warmth which washed over him when he pictured her beautiful face smiling at him with her little mischievous grin. The way she nibbled on her bottom lip when she was being shy or contemplating something, made him melt and quite frankly, turned him on like nothing he had ever imagined.